Somewhere in Neverland
by Strife4908
Summary: Marlene lands the spot of Wendy in the school play of Peter Pan, and a certain fellow actor seems to have his eye on her. Could this be the start of another love story? Not if Cloud and Barret have anything to say about it!


**A/N: I haven't had the writing bug for a while, but then I just had this sudden urge to write something! So I flipped through my music trying to find inspiration when I ran into All Time Low's song "Somewhere in Neverland" Then TADA! This little fic was born! XD This story takes a different approach then my normal stuff. It doesn't center around one person's thoughts or actions. It kinda flows from one person to the next. I'm trying new things to see how they work. Be sure to let me know how I did!**

**Disclaimer: I do now own FFVII or Peter Pan…or All Time Low for that matter**

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**Somewhere in Neverland**

"Tifa! Tifa! I did it! I got the part!" Marlene stormed through the doors of Seventh Heaven frantically searching for the raven haired woman. She rounded the corner to find Tifa rearranging the new barstools that had come in. The bartender stopped relocating when she heard Marlene's entry.

"Marlene, you're glowing! What happened?" Tifa waited patiently for the young girl to catch her breath. She must have sprinted all the way home. Marlene inhaled deeply before responding.

"I got the lead! I'm gonna be Wendy in the play!" the young brunette beamed as she jumped up and down. A wide smile stretched across Tifa's face as well.

"Honey, that's awesome!" excitement evident in her voice. Tifa proceeded to embrace the girl. She kneeled down to Marlene's level before speaking again. "How about we have chicken parmesan for supper to celebrate?" If at all possible, the brunette's smile widened, and she nodded furiously, excited for her favorite dish. Tifa chuckled, "All right. If you can get Denzel to go with you, I'll make a list of ingredients I need, and you can pick them up." The girl continued to nod. Tifa couldn't remember seeing her so happy.

"Alright," Marlene swiftly turned around, her lavender backpack moving with her. Before she was able to find Denzel, she bumped into a familiar blonde coming back from his most recent delivery. "Oooof!" The young girl stumbled backwards and struggled to regain her balance. She rubbed her head gently, the collision with the man's chest had caused it to sting a bit.

"Hey, you okay?" The child looked up to find the owner of the voice. Amber eyes met Mako ones, and her smile returned.

"Cloud!" she wrapped her arms around his middle, receiving a light embrace in return. "Hey Cloud, guess what!" the brunette commanded after releasing him.

"What?" a curious expression streaked across his face.

"I'm gonna be in the school play! We're doing _Peter Pan, _and I get to play Wendy!"

"Way to go," the blonde congratulated her, patting her head.

"Tee hee. Thanks! I have to go find Denzel now so we can get Tifa stuff for chicken parmesan. I'll see you later Cloud," she turned and headed briskly up the stairs. "Hey Denzel, you'll never guess –!" Her voice wandered off as she got further away.

Cloud walked into the next room to find Tifa sitting at the bar scribbling words on a piece of scratch paper. He sat next to the girl, waiting patiently for her to finish before asking. "Tifa, who's Peter Pan?" Tifa turned to look at him. His face was completely serious.

"You really don't know?" she asked, astonished. He responded by shaking his head. "Wow, you really didn't have much of a childhood. With the whole SOLDIER thing –," Tifa stopped when she realized what she was getting into. That damn mouth of hers. She really needed to learn to think before speaking, but a quick glance at Cloud reassured her that he was unaffected by her words. However, she felt it best not to tread in deep waters. "Anyways, I'll go get the movie so you can watch it."

"It's a movie?" the blonde asked as Tifa rose to her feet.

"Yea, I have it on VHS. Wait here, I'll go grab it."

"Who has VHS tapes anymore?" Cloud mumbled, but Tifa chose to ignore it as she headed off towards her room.

"Now let's see where did I put that thing?" the woman pondered. She reached under the bed to find the cardboard box she had stashed there long ago. "Aha! There it is." She blew the dust off the top before reaching inside and grabbing the item of interest. "I hope this thing still works." As she was pushing the box back underneath the bed, realization struck her. She was about to witness a very rare event. Cloud watching a cartoon. What had this world come to? It had been a few years since the Kadaj/Sephiroth incident, and things were relatively calm for once. It had seemed that Cloud was coming to terms with his past. He came home almost every night and was even beginning to smile more, but this? This was definitely one for the books. The raven haired woman let out a fit of giggles before going in search of the man.

He was exactly where she left him, leaning on the counter waiting patiently for her. "Denzel and Marlene left already. I gave them your list," he calmly told her.

"Oh, okay. I think the VCR is still hooked up to the TV in the basement. You should be all set." Tifa stated mater-of-factly.

"Alright." With that Cloud hopped off the barstool, but before the duo could make their way down to the basement, the front door flew open.

"MARLENE! DADDY'S HERE!" The pair cringed at the intruder's volume. Was it really necessary for him to be this loud _every _timehe stopped by?

"Sorry Barret, Marlene's with Denzel at the store. She should be back soon though," Tifa reassured him.

"What are they at the store for?"

"I'm making chicken parmesan tonight, but I'm missing a few ingredients."

"Marlene's favorite! What's the occasion?" Barret's curiosity knew no bounds.

"She's gonna be playing Wendy in the school's production of _Peter Pan_," Tifa informed him.

"That's my girl! Just like her old man, gets anything she sets her mind on! My little girl's gonna be in _Peter Pan! _That's what I'm talking 'bout!" he clenched his fist in triumph and a wide grin spread across his face.

Cloud lifted an eyebrow and proceeded to ask, "Barret, you don't know a thing about _Peter Pan_ do you?" Barret's face fell.

"Uh, well…..no….but I can't have my little Marlene knowin' that!" he stammered, panic set in his voice. Tifa sighed.

"Well then you're in luck. I was about to pop in the movie downstairs for Cloud."

"It's a movie?" Barret was just as puzzled as Cloud was.

"Yes it's a movie. You two can watch it downstairs, and I'll have the kids help me with supper when they get back. That way, Marlene won't be the wiser about you two not knowing a thing about the play."

"Sounds like a plan. Thanks Tifa. My little girl's gonna be a star!" Tifa rolled her eyes before leading the men into the basement. She set up the movie for them and tossed the remote at the duo sitting on the couch. "I'll be upstairs if you need me." She left as the _Disney _logo appeared on the screen.

Cloud and Barret were intently watching in silence until Tinker Bell made an appearance. "Ain't no way they gonna find a girl that small to play her. She's gotta be a foot tall!" Cloud face palmed, did the man seriously not have any common sense? "And look at what she's wearing! That dress is WAY too short! Wait….who was Marlene playing again?"

"Wendy, the other girl they showed."

Barret let out a breath he had been holding, "Thank Gaia for that. I feel bad for the poor sap that has to play Peter though, having to wear an outfit like that." For once Cloud had to agree. The kid would probably be shoved into tights no doubt. Although, it couldn't be any worse than the time he had to dress up as a girl. Cloud shuddered at the unwanted memory.

Barret was relatively quiet for the rest of the movie, save for a few outbursts here and there. Like the mermaid scene where he called them "jealous bitches" because they weren't as pretty as his little girl. Then again with the Indians…Native Americans…whatever you wanted to call them! Peter was an "asshole" for "cheating" on his girl. Cloud couldn't believe he was sitting there watching a children's movie, with Barret of all people! However, Barret's latest outburst got the blonde thinking. From what he had seen, it looked like Peter and Wendy were "a thing". That meant that the actor playing Peter would be portraying Marlene's….dare he say it…._boyfriend, _and as the credits rolled, he realized how much the thought irked him. Marlene was practically his daughter now too, and Gaia be damned if he was gonna let some snot nose little kid try to get his hands on her! God, now he was starting to sound like Barret. That can't be good. As if reading his mind, the large man interrupted Cloud's thoughts.

"Hey Cloud, did you notice how," Barret struggled to find the right word, "close Wendy and Peter were during the movie?"

"Yea."

"Which means that whatever kid is playing Peter will be that 'close' to Marlene. That bastard better not lay a finger on her, or it'll be his head!" For once Cloud agreed with him. The blonde felt like a proud papa, which meant he had to watch out for little boys with hidden agendas. Even if they were only in grade school.

"I see where you are coming from Barret, but what can we do about it? Even Tifa will say we are being ridiculous and not to worry, that it's just a play."

This made the gunman ponder, "Hmmm….I'm not sure, but we'll think of something."

Before the self-proclaimed Ex-SOLDIER could respond, Tifa's voice echoed around them. "Hey guys, supper's ready! Come eat!"

For the next few weeks Cloud and Barret had been trying to devise a plan to get rid of the kid. They had thought about ways of getting him out of the play. Breaking his leg didn't seem too bad right? After all, the kid would live. Bombing his house seemed a little drastic, although Barret had some grenades ready, just in case. The only thing ShinRa was good for was their damn explosives. They also thought about ways to get him expelled. Having a heard of chocobos let loose in the school seemed plausible. There were a lot of possibilities, but one underlying fact kept creeping up on them. These were just plots to get rid of the kid. If he left, surely the director would just find a new person to fill the role. Getting Marlene to drop the play was out of the question. She was ecstatic about the thing. To make matters worse, play practice was held during school hours, without any allowance for Cloud or Barret to check up on her. The males had their jobs to attend to; a living had to be made. As the performance drew nearer, the duo became more frustrated, still unable to come up with a solid plan.

The day before the play's debut, when Cloud got home from his deliveries he found an unfamiliar young boy in the bar, and he was talking to none other than Marlene. '_No, he couldn't be,'_ the blonde pondered. The pair stopped chatting when they saw Cloud's approach. The young boy was around Marlene's age, not much taller than her with dirty blonde hair and emerald eyes. "Hey Marlene, who's your _friend_?" he made sure to put extra emphasis on the word _friend. _

"This is Zephyr. He's playing Peter in the play with me. We're just going over our lines one last time for the big day tomorrow," she replied with a grin. Zephyr didn't say a word, just sat there his face emotionless, looking at the adult. Cloud already didn't like him.

"I see, have you seen Tifa?" his mako eyes were glowing by this point.

"Not lately," Marlene shook her head.

"I see…I'll go find her." Cloud pretended to go in search of the raven haired woman, but as soon as he got out of earshot he called up Barret to inform him of the situation.

The man arrived within minutes, no doubt breaking a few laws along the way. "Alright, where's the little brat," he huffed raising his gun arm. Cloud pointed but stopped Barret before he could march in there and doing something incredibly stupid. "Why you stoppin' me? I'm gonna blow that kid's brains out!"

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of. He hasn't made any moves to suggest anything…yet. So we'll lay low, keep an eye on them, and act accordingly."

Barret frowned, obviously not liking this idea, but he didn't protest. "Fine, we'll do it your way, but if he steps even an inch out of line all hell's gonna break loose! For now, we'll just watch them."

And watch them they did. No movement when unnoticed. They would create obscene excuses to walk past them: wanting a glass of water, checking the weather, or the neighbor needed some sugar. The duo soon ran out of excuses and settled for watching from the hallway, cautiously peeking around the corner.

"What in the world are you two doing?" A voice behind them questioned. Barret and Cloud turned around to see a shocked Tifa looking down at their crouched figures.

"Making sure the little squirt doesn't make any passes at my daughter," Barret had no shame in his voice.

"They're children, what are they going to do? Go to the playground together?!" Tifa was furious. Seriously what had gotten into them?

"Tifa you don't understand. He's a _guy_. Our minds were indecent even at that age."

Cloud looked him disapprovingly, "What do you mean by _our_? Speak for yourself." While Cloud and Barret were arguing, they failed to notice Tifa slip on her gloves until BAM! They both suddenly had throbbing headaches and growing lumps on the back of their heads. Tifa stormed off, starting to wonder who she should be calling 'kid' anymore.

It was time for the play and both Cloud and Barret were in attendance. Tifa had managed to calm her temper and not completely pulverize them. So here they were, waiting patiently for the play to start. As the curtain opened, the pair were instantly captivated. It was immensely similar to the movie they had recently watched. The Tinker Bell actress wasn't a foot tall, but she was a great deal shorter than the rest of the cast members. The awe soon subsided as more interactions with Wendy and Peter ensued. Every once in a while they would hold hands, and Barret could barely control himself when Zephyr carried Marlene across the stage. At one point in time Barret had suggested that Cloud dress up as a chocobo and run across the stage, destroying everything in his path. He said it would be believable, with Cloud's hair defying gravity like it does. Still, Cloud refused.

Not soon enough, intermission came, and the large man flew down the aisle and backstage, with Cloud on his heels. In no time at all, he spotted Zephyr, and soon cornered him. Barret lifted him off the ground with one hand and placed the barrel of his other arm painstakingly close to Zephyr's face. "Alright punk, you keep your hands off my little Marlene and no one gets hurt," his voice was threatening. Cloud was tempted to unsheathe his sword, but which one to point it at, he wasn't entirely sure.

Zephyr seemed oddly calm, "Hold on," he lifted his hands in defense, "I don't like Marlene like that, I've just been pretending because I think another one of the boys has a crush on her, and I've been trying to protect her."

Barret lowered both of his arms, intrigued by the kid's words. "You're saying someone else has been getting close to my little girl, and you don't have feelings for her whatsoever." Zephyr nodded. "Is he in the play?"

"Yes, he's one of the Lost Boys. He plays the fox." Barret glanced at Cloud, then back to Zephyr.

"I still have my eye on you," Barret glared at the actor, "but for now…" he stole another look at Cloud, and the blonde nodded at his unspoken words.

Yes, the Lost Boy was about to become very lost indeed…

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**A/N: So the OOCness….yea… I tried to stay away from it in the beginning, and then said screw it we're having fun with this! XD And I did have fun with it, I hope you did too! :D **


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